♥Introduction to... Flappie Style! (Flapper x Hime)♥

 

Hello everybunny! I hope that your week is off to an absolutely lovely start!♥ 

Today I'll be doing a slightly different outfit post and in fact, it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time so I'm very very excited to finally be able to do it! ; v ;

So maybe a few followers will know that I love electro swing, I got to see Caravan Palace (with Alice Francis supporting♥) last May for my birthday and it was incredible. ; o ;♥ Sadly I haven't been able to make it to any electro swing events since, but I've been into the genre for over a year and a half now. ; u ; For those who aren't familiar with it, electro swing combines swing music with EDM and other genres like hip hop and R n B and it's basically pretty awesome (I'll recommend some artists later!).♪♪ I had been searching for a flapper dress since January 2013, when I bought tickets to the gig for my boyfriend and I, but with no luck at all. They were either costumey and tacky, or gorgeous and wouldn't fit me at all.. 

 

After going to see Caravan Palace and seeing so many people so amazingly dressed for the event, particularly some ladies wearing incredible flapper outfits, I became even more determined to be able to wear the flapper style too! Though I wanted to wear a cuter version, with maybe more frills and bows as well as the signature pearls and headbands and bobbed hair.♥ Of course, at the time I wasn't aware of the style "himekaji" which I mainly wear now, I mean I liked it but wasn't aware it had a name, was recognised as a style like sweet lolita, or fairy kei for example. I used to spend time doodling cute little flappers with big bow headdresses and lacy dresses and lace-edged sailor collars, I'll have to see if I can dig them out sometime even though the doodles suck haha!

 

So I continued to spend time scouring the net for pink flapper dresses of any kind which I could even alter to my liking if possible, but still no luck. (The whole time my mum was all "Just make one! You have dressmaking skills so put them to use! ; O ;" but my confidence really held me back. OTL) It wasn't until March 2014 (it took me that long to stumble upon something I liked OTL) that I found something that was cute, pink, flapper style, and fitted me! I bought it without hesitation. *v*♥ I picked up another two in my recent Taobao haul, and the other day I found two more that I quickly ordered.♥♥ I also picked up some cute accessories like pearly necklaces and lace gloves.♥ I'm trying to find a cute cloche hat at the moment, but it's proving tricky to find one I like to I might have to alter one.^^;

 

♥Outfits!♥

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Necklaces, Tights → Taobao

Headband → Bobon21 (It's actually a waist tie for a dress but it works really well this way!♪)

Shoes → DreamV

Gloves → Bodyline

The first version of this outfit I tried was actually with a wig, because being the idiot I am I forgot I have real hair that can work with outfits and it makes me so happy that it works with flappie style! ; v ;♥ The dress is flapper style, but has a lot of lace and slightly puffy sleeves!♪ The headband, one of the nacklaces, and the gloves have bows.♥ Bows, frills and lace are important for this look.(*^ ^*)♥ At the moment, these shoes and my ribbon heels work best for this look but of course I'd love even more cute flappie shoes!♥

 

 What to do for Flappie-esque makeup?♪ Big eyes, puffy eyebags and rosy cheeks!♥ Lipstick in shades of nude, pink, coral etc. would be cute too! Think of himekaji makeup, and then add more eyeliner and blush ww.♥ Hair in the signature bobbed flapper style, of course! Curly or straight.♥  When flapper style started, makeup was really rebellious because before then, ladies were expected to be refined! Makeup was only expected of sex workers, and for the refined lady it was all about intricate hairstyling instead. The flappers stuck a finger at tradition & expectation and piled on the makeup as well as cutting their hair off and driving, drinking and smoking! I've read that many flappers got their hair cut at barber shops! If you want to look at another great place for flappie makeup inspiration, take a look a 60's mod makeup! In fact, the 60's mod was basically a flapper without the trimmings, which is probably why I love mod style too.♥♥

 

Accessories are lots of pearls, headbands or headdresses with feathers and bows, lacy gloves, and more bows!♥♥ And a smile ww ; u ; ♥ (No really, this style honestly makes me so happy, I've been wearing it so much!♪)

 False eyelashes and plenty of eyeliner along with a fluffy curly bob. ; u ; ♥

 

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Necklaces, Tights, Shorts → Taobao

Shoes → DreamV

Gloves, Sunhat → Bodyline

Spectacles → eBay

Flapper dresses were rebelliously short for their time, but not this short ww so I've worn shorts with this outfit.♪ I've found that a lot of himekaji pieces are quite short, like the pieces from Bobon21 so these dresses fit the unshaped aesthetic of the flapper dress and the shortness of himekaji.♪

 

The hat isn't so flapper, but super cute summery cloche hats aren't easy to find, sadly. ; - ; Straw boater hats will be good for summer.^^ Plus they add a bit of a vintage feel.♪

 

Short wavy hair again, but with spectacles and a sunhat.♪ As I said above, a cloche hat would be much better! I think I need to make one or something.. but remember in summer that wearing a hat is very important!♥ The detailing at the top of the dress reminds me of Art Deco, which is perfect for flappie!♥

 

 

This outfit is the same as the first, but I added my Lacy Rose OTKs from Angelic Pretty to make it just a little OTT. Of course it's not completely OTT since there's no feather headdress, but I'm working on that. ; v ; Normal lacy stockings would work too!♪ I'd really love to get a garter from CreepyYeha to match the outfit and add a bit of babydoll style to it.♪

 

Any sort of interesting lacy tights, stockings, socks work super well as long as the colours coordinate!^^♪ Colour-wise for flappie style, pale pastel colours or pale earthy colours work best, just like colours you'd find in himekaji!♥

 

 

The detailing on the bottom of this dress and on the socks is gorgeous. ; u ; Sorry for chubby thighs though.. OTL but hey,  pretty socks! ; v ;''

 

 

♥Rundown♥

Dress, Tights → Taobao

Cardi → Hand me down

Shoes, Hat, Headband → Bodyline

Handbag → River Island

This is a more casual outfit that leans towards himekaji, but the sailor collar and lack of tailoring on the dress keep the 20s aesthetic!♥ And yes, the were a fair few sailor collars on dresses in the 20s!♪ It's a more "easy wear" outfit for going out shopping and such.^^

 I actually took these photos after going out a little (I was so happy to make it out, plus it was a quiet day so it was confortable ; u ; ) so my hair went a bit floppy. OTL I need to get some better hairspray to keep the curls in place!♥

 As you can see.. floppy hair... luckily my hair is short and bobbed anyway ; v ; I think it's time to bust out my rollers and curl my hair properly!^^

So... what makes it flappie?♪

♥Flapper style dress

♥Flapper style hair

♥Flapper headbands with bows and/or flowers

♥Himekaji handbag

♥Pastel colours, pale earthy colours

♥Dolly eye makeup and lots of blush. Maybe also lipstick in shades of nude, pink, coral etc.

♥Lacy tights

♥Lacy gloves

♥Bows!

♥Lace!

♥Flapper jewellery like long strings of pearls

♥Cute heels. To make it more flapper style, try pointed toe shoes.

♥Stockings and more jewellery, also a feather headdress if you want to go more OTT or for a party.♪

♥For winter: cloche hat, faux fur trims, more faux fur (especially collars), perhaps also ankle boots.

Bonus: Recommended/well known electro swing artists!

(There are loads out there, and if you want a taster I really recommend this 8tracks playlist which includes some awesome tracks (credit to my sweetie Josh for putting it together!) Electro Swing radio!)

♥Parov Stelar

♥Alice Francis

♥Caravan Palace

♥Lyre Le Temps

♥Tape Five

♥Dirty Honkers

And if you have any to recommend to me, let me know please!♥♥

 

Photo with Captain Martin Alpaca. c:

 

  

Thank you so so much for reading!♥ I really hope you enjoyed this post, it's actually something very close to my heart that I've been working on (and trying to put together) for a long time. ; u ;♥ It was actually very difficult to do, as explain at the start of the post, but I'm getting there with my collection of dresses and accessories!♥ I'll probably make another flappie post when my other dresses arrive. c: Special thanks to the lovely Josh for getting me into electro swing (and helping me out with this)!♥ I'm actually quite surprised that so far I've had so many lovely comments about this style on my instagram and facebook (like page & account), so I'm really grateful for that. m(_ _)m I was actually a little worried, because I've seen people get it in the neck a little when experimenting with new styles so I'm quite relieved haha. ; v ; I hope you like "flappie style" too!♥♥

Have a supersweet day and a dreamy night everybunny.♥

♪hug & chu♪

チュー！♥

Love, Elizabunnii♥♥

♥Taobao Haul & Bhiner Review♥

 

Hello everybunny!♪ I hope you're well.♥ I have a few things to talk about, but I'll save that for an update post or something!♪♪

Today I'm finally going to post about the huge haul I bought in preparation of my holiday to Tokyo! I need plenty of cute clothes for my three weeks there, and it's going to be super hot so I need to make sure I stay cool.^^ The shopping service I used this time is one called "Bhiner", I really recommend it to people who are maybe not used to using Taobao, or those who just want to order quickly and easily! It's a very convenient service, since you just get the link of the product you want, paste it, and it will appear on the Bhiner page with a converted price and translated size/colour etc. options!^^♥

You then add it to the basket, and once you've put everything you want to buy into it, everything then gets ready to be quoted!♪ The staff at Bhiner check the price, the stock, and whether the seller is trusted etc. then you get an email when everything is quoted.♪ After that you pay by topping your account up with money and then entering your shipping details!♪ 

As each product arrives at Bhiner, they will take a photo of it for you!♥ It's super handy, and you can check that the colour is correct and such.^^ Once everything arrives, the staff weigh and pack the package according to the shipping method you specified when you paid for the products. Then you get the shipping quote!♥

 

♥My Order♥

• I sent my order for quoting on April 3rd.♪
• On April 4th I made the first payment.
• Then I had fun watching everything arrive and seeing all the photos, it's quite exciting!♪♪
• By the 10th April, everything has arrived so I just needed to wait on the shipping quote.
• April 11th arrived, and I paid for the shipping!

For the shipping, I chose AirmailHK! It's a lot faster than AirmailCN in my experience.^^ You can see information about the various shipping methods on Bhiner, they have some neat guides and help pages. c:

• Around the 25th April, everything arrived!♥

 

The box was sealed really well, though sadly I bought so so much that even reducing the declared amout to the smallest realistic amount still incurred customs charges ww

 

So many clothes inside! *-*♥

 

Lots and lots and lots!♪♪

By the way, for this review I'll just be showing the clothes and then I'll show the outfits in themed posts (like himekaji, casual, romagyaru etc.), since there are just so many ww ; u ;♪

 

♥The Clothes♥

 

First up... lacy tights ; u ; ♥ I pretty much always wear tights, since I really hate my legs. ;; (My circulation is really bad so they often go blotchy or weird colours and blegh. ><;; ) These looked really pretty, and I thought they'd be really pretty with my himekaji things.^^

 

 I've bought so many pink things, so I thought I'd start adding a little blue to my wardrobe!♥ This dress is really simple & cute, so I thought it would be simple to coordinate and wear when I don't feel like going all out with an outfit.^^

 

More blue!♥ This is a simple top with a lovely printed lace (roses yay!♥) and cotton lining. There also a really cute chiffon peplum.♪

 

I probably should have bought myself something like these ages ago because oh my gosh I use them with so many outfits!♥ There are layers of eyelet lace and crochet lace.^^♥♥

 

 A summery dress with a sailor collar! ; u ; ♥♥ Super perfect! ;v; ♥ I love waistless and dropped waist pieces!♪ It's really vintage style too, the sailor collar and lack of tailoring/looseness is super 20s.♥(The 'vintage' style will probably come across more when I post the outfit!♪) Sadly the bow didn't come with a pin or anything, and was quite misshapen, so I pinned it on and into shape with some safety pins.^^ The whole dress is a floral lace layer over an underdress, I absolutely adore it! ; v ; ♥♥

 

Close-up of the floral lace ; v ;♥ The little buttons are cute little decorations.♪

 

Sailor collar close-up!^^

 

Following on from the last dress, you can probably guess why I picked out this one! ; u ; ♥ It's really flapper style, and when it's work it's super bouncy too! Of course, it's not totally accurate to the flapper style since it's much shorter than the dresses would have been, and many dresses didn't have sleeves, but I still absolutely adore it!♥

 

The lace along the hemline is really pretty!♥ There's an underdress with tulle around the hem which peeks out at the bottom.^^♪

 

Art deco patterns! ; u ; This dress is perfectly patterned and shaped, and I don't think it's even supposed to be flapper style haha.^^♥♥

 

This super cute blouse caught my eye because of the floral lace part!♥ It's really cute and fits perfectly, but the only downside is that the lace was quite itchy, so I've soaked it in a mix of warm water and fabric conditioner a few times to soften it up.^^

 

This top is a little strange, because it's a short sleeved sweater with a chiffon layer and lace trims! It's really pretty (more florals, oops!♥) and caught my eye because it says "sprout" which is what my mum has often called me since I was little ww 

 

The letters and numbers are made of lace!♥ Also more roses, because I can never have enough clothes with florals/roses on. ; u ;♥

 

 

I had been wanting cute shorts like this for a while, but was always too scared to get them.. ; - ; But I saw these and they were pretty cheap, so I thought if my legs look too bad in them, not too much money will be wasted. ; v ; But... I actually really like them!♥ They even have pockets.♪

 

Pocket close-up!♥ Though the flap part doesn't open, there's a pocket behind it.^^

 

But sadly these ones are fake pockets. ; o ;''

 

 This is super gorgeous, though I didn't think much when buying it because it's not really a colourway that matches other things I have, oops. ; v ; The floral fabric is gorgeous though, it reminds me a little of William Morris' designs.♥ The bodice is really pretty and comes up to the underbust line, and it fits perfectly.♪ Something like this needs to be quite fitted, so I'm so happy that it's not awkwardly baggy! It's so pretty, and there are pockets too!♥

 

The front buttons up, and below the buttons is a zip.♪ It's not a garment that can be slipped on, since it's so fitted. (I usually find myself bypassing zips and buttons on clothes haha... ; v ; )

 

There are little bows on the booty ww♥

 

Maybe if you've read my blog before, this dress will be familiar!♪ I bought the pink version a while ago and loved it so much that I decided to get the blue version too!♥

 

I also bought the shorts that match each dress.^O^♥♥ They have satiny inner shorts so they're lovely and comfy to wear.^^♪

 

 

This top is really cute and comfy, but sadly it's quite see-through.. ; o ;'' It's really flowy & pretty but I'll probably wear a matching vest or crop top underneath.^^

 

The lace is super cute though!♥

 

Thank you so much for reading!♥ If you're going to use the Bhiner shopping service, I hope it goes super well for you!^^ I already have another order arriving from them and two orders placed with them ww. >u < ♥ The outfit posts will gradually be on their way, as well as a lot more posts.^^ I hope you'll look forward to them.♥

Have a supersweet day and a dreamy night everybunny.♥

♪hug & chu♪

チュー！♥

Love, Elizabunnii♥♥